Hey hey, troublemakers—Kendra here.
You ever meet someone and instantly know their brain runs on story magic and probably a little bit of glittery chaos? That’s Trisha Thacker. She’s a sun-dodging, tea-sipping, taco-wielding word witch out of the Southwest who writes urban fantasy with heart, humor, and a touch of shadow. Think faerie tales reimagined, rewilded, and lit on fire just to see what burns brightest.
When she’s not wrangling her muses (or her cats—Ginger and Kai, who are absolutely the real bosses), she’s stitching sarcasm into cross-stitch, bingeing Mythbusters like it’s a comfort blanket, and plotting her next literary explosion. Her Ablaze series started with Sparks, leveled up with Spark & Shadow, and now she’s teasing a third called Wildfire. Yes, it’s as fierce and fun as it sounds.
This is the kind of author who grew up dreaming about stories and actually did the damn thing. And now? She’s sharing those stories with you.
So grab your favorite mug, settle in somewhere shady, and come meet Trisha Thacker. You’re gonna love what she has to say.
Coffee, tea, or cacao? I’ve been a tea drinker since I was sixteen, but I love a good cup of cacao!
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? I read a lot of books and watch a lot of shows and play video games. Sparks – came from me playing Kingdom Hearts and them traveling through shadows. The idea of Sparks was born from that!
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing? I try and write on the weekends and after work, so I do long days on Saturdays and Sundays, writing most of the day. I try and do writing sprints, writing with other people, so 45 minute sprints, with a five minute break for most of the day.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing? I like to cross stitch in my spare time. I have a number of unfinished projects and one that is basically saying “I’m not a hot mess, I’m s spicy disaster.”
What does your family think of your writing? They support it a great deal, even going to buy my book and donate it to their local library, so that it gets exposure. My father proofreads when he can and gives me suggestions on how to improve.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? I always wanted to be a writer. I started reading when I was very young, and started making up stories about what I read. That was my main goal in life, was to publish a book.
What is the first book that made you cry? Bridge to Terabithia. How dare they end the book the way they did?
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you building a body of work with connections between each book? I like to have a series of books, with each book feeding into another, but I do have several short stories and one-shot books that I plan to publish.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? Get off your butt and submit the book to get published. It’s okay if it’s imperfect, the important thing is to get your story out in the world.
How did publishing your first book change your process of writing? I realized that it’s a lot harder to write than you think it is. There is the writing, which can be fun, but there is the editing and the proofreading, and the beta reads—I could go on! But I realize it can take a long time to actually get your book out there.
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer? Paying for the design for my book covers, they’re absolutely gorgeous and I love them to pieces. I plan on using them for all my books.
What was an early experience where you learned that language had power? Funny is when my dad realized that I picked up his bad language habits when I was very young. He corrected me and his language very quickly after that!
Are you traditionally or self published? Or both? Do you feel there are advantages to one over the other? I am self-published and I think it’s a disadvantage to be so, since Indie authors don’t get as much exposure as traditionally published authors. They get their books in big bookstores and they have a hand up on marketing. Indie’s have to do everything themselves.
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have? I have half a dozen unfinished works at any time, and I currently have one that is about halfway done that I want to publish one day.
What does literary success look like to you? Having people review the book and enjoy it. Knowing that my book is out in the hands of people and they’ve gotten some joy from it. It means a lot to me that my story is well-received.
What do you have coming next?
My next book has a working title of “Wildifre”, to go along with Sparks, then Spark & Shadow. It’s the third book in my Ablaze series and hopefully won’t be the last. But what’s immediately coming out is the audiobook for Spark & Shadow.
Well, that was fun—and also a little ominous, a little magical, and a lot intriguing. Trisha Thacker’s got the kind of mind that can casually drop a line like “science with a side of explosions” and then hit you with a fae deal that might decide the fate of a soul. I’m in.
If you’re anything like me (and let’s face it, you are, because you’re still here), you’re going to want more. Good news—Trisha’s shared an exclusive excerpt from her book Sparks, and it’s just a scroll away. You’ll meet Tabor. You’ll feel the danger simmering under every word. And you’ll understand why hiding from the sun with tacos and tea might be the only safe strategy.
But before you dive in, go follow the magic:
🌐 Website: trishathacker.com
📸 Instagram: @lazuli23
🌀 BlueSky: lazzchan.bsky.social
Now keep reading, darlings. The fae aren’t the only ones watching…
There—she was unmistakable and he zeroed in on her location, tugging her to the side so that he could talk with her privately. He didn’t miss the fear in her eyes or the sweat that suddenly beaded her brow and he pulled back a bit, cooling his temperature so that he could converse with her easier.
"You-you're Fateh’s mother." His expression gave nothing away, waiting to see if she would lie or run. Humans always lied, but mothers lied the most when it came to protecting their children. Still, this human woman seemed intelligent, so perhaps she would try and start by telling the more valuable truth. She gave a cautious nod.
"What’s he done now?" she asked, leaning back on her heels and relaxing a little, now that he didn’t try and kill her immediately. "I have warned him." The note of exasperation in her voice made him think of his own mother from so long ago and a smile twitched on his face.
"He’s going to be in trouble soon," he said bluntly. "You can see the signs and you know your son and what dangers he can fall into." There was no time for prevaricating; if he had any hope at all of pulling Fateh away from this place, he had to give the proper warnings now.
Instead of protesting, her shoulders sagged. The truth was there and no matter how much she had tried to lie to herself about it when one of the enemy was telling her, she knew it was true.
"You have seen some of the effects on the people that have been taken by the dark ones in this town, have you not?" he asked. "What happens to their… souls, their existence?" He watched her frown before she slowly nodded. "It can be much worse for Fateh. I have seen what else can be done to a person, more than a little mind control."
"Get on with it." Her tone was blunt. "What is going to happen to my son?" She was getting a little bolder and Tabor couldn’t help but grin a little in return at her attitude. It seemed that Fateh got his stubborn streak and big mouth from her.
"He’s not like the others around here," he pointed out. "You should know the stories."
She bit her lip and rubbed at her arms as if she was cold now. "He is my child," she said forcefully. "He’s not a changeling of any sort."
He grinned even wider at that. "No, no—he’s not anything of that sort, but he is… well, there is more to him than what is simply on the surface. Thus his nature is like a shining jewel to the Shadows that run this town."
"… and you’re offering to help." The disbelief was thick in her voice.
"I’m offering to help because I know what it is like to be on the wrong side of their interest," he snapped. "Your son possesses many of the qualities that they kill for. He needs real protection, not the false promises that are being offered. This isn’t an offer I’m making lightly."
"So it’s coming down to making deals with the tylwyth teg." She ran a hand through her hair. "Mama had talked about it. Warned me that it’d happen and that I just had to be smart about which one I made a deal with."
"Your mother had clear eyes as well, hm?" he asked. "Perhaps there’s an explanation for Fateh’s little quirks after all." He crossed his arms against his chest. "Listen well to this warning, then. If your son is under my protection, the Shadows that roam here can not hurt him. I have my own patrons and they are not willing to cross them for the sake of one strange child. However, if that child does not have protection, there is no force on earth that can save his soul from those abominations."
"Then they’re not your companions? You’re not all in this together?" She looked almost hopeful; as if she was expecting a rescue from the darkness that had taken over the town.
Tabor barked out a faint, scornful laugh at that hope. He didn’t have an army and the higher courts cared nothing for humans except as something to play with. The humans were lucky that the higher courts cared even less for the cast-offs that were created from the humans' own ill-wishing and hopes gone awry. "No," his tone was curt. “, "but they’re not something you would trifle with lightly. There are others of us here that are not tied up with those creatures, but none of us are so suicidal to go up against them so carelessly."
"I see. So you’re just as scared as the rest of us." She shook her head. "So you’re saying that I have to agree to hand protection of Fateh over to you so that something nastier isn’t going to snatch him up? Is that it?"
Tabor nodded seriously. "They’re starting to push and push—trying to tangle everyone here in their threads until there is nothing left. Unless you want your son to join the list of the casualties… or worse, their ranks, you’d best take my advice. When the time comes, you need to hand Fateh over to me."